Star Wars Weekends, 24 Hour Party and Shenanigans UPDATE10/16 Star Wars Sci Fi bfast

[OhioStateBuckeye]

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

OK. Florida isn't that far. But it may as well be in a galaxy far, far away for someone who just moved to Austin, Texas from Columbus, Ohio and is as Disney obsessed as they come.

Sometimes I think Disney keeps purchasing all the things I love because I need to be more Disney obsessed than I already am...case in point, Star Wars!

This trip wasn't really supposed to happen. It came about because we ran the Star Wars Half in Disneyland in January. We went to the wookie welcome party and there were a couple Star Wars characters. Long story short, we completely messed up the party and only saw 2 characters. Brian admitted that it was kind of his fault and said we could go to SWW. So I ran with that, of course, and this trip was born!

First, a picture of us from this trip that I think is very representative of us:



Second up, schedule time:

Wednesday May 20: depart Austin around 7, arrive in Orlando at 10:20 pm. Check into Royal Pacific.
Thursday May 21: last day of our Universal AP
Friday May 22: 24 Hour day at MK
Saturday May 23: Star Wars Weekends
Sunday May 24: Star Wars Weekends
Monday May 25: AK, Epcot and MK
Tuesday May 26: DHS, Epcot and MK
Wednesday May 27: depart Orlando super early

Third, random facts about our Disney preferences so you can get to know us:

Brian
Favorite Park: AK with Epcot a close second
Favorite Characters to Meet: Baloo and Meg
Favorite Movie: Robinhood
Favorite Nighttime Show: Fantasmic
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: not the All Star Sports food court, that's for sure. But seriously, Tamu Tamu's chicken curry. Which is no longer there. Ok now he says Morocco.
Favorite Disney transportation: Main Street horse carriage
Favorite Disney horse: Silver from Lone Ranger. I told him Silver didn't count and that we're doing animated horses. Argument ensued. Asked if Trigger is a Disney horse. Was told no. Considered Eeyore for a while. Then suggested Abu when he gets turned into a horse. I informed him that he was turned into an elephant. He asked if that still counted. I said no. He then said the Aristocats horse with the hat. So he has finally chosen Frou Frou. Wants to change mind to the flying donkey Burrito in 3 Caballeros, from the Flying Gauchito short. I have accepted this answer in defeat.
Favorite Hotel: AOA (value), Coronado (moderate), Beach Club (deluxe) with Poly a close second

Me
Favorite Park: MK, or whichever park I happen to be at in the moment. How can I pick favorites among my children? At least I imagine this is what it's like to have to choose.
Favorite Characters to Meet: Donald, Mulan, Merida, Darth Maul or anyone rare
Favorite Movie: Tangled (new era), Lion King (my childhood era), Swiss Family Robinson (before my time era)
Favorite Nighttime Show: Fantasmic followed closely by Celebrate the Magic, the castle projection show (that lantern scene gets me every time)
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: Butterbeer (yep, trumps all Disney food/drinks for me)
Favorite Disney transportation: Main Street horse carriage (sorry monorail, the horses have CM name tags, your Spanish spiel can't top that)
Favorite Disney horse: tie between Khan and Maximus (can't beat that sass)
Favorite Hotel: AOA (value), Coronado (moderate), Poly (deluxe) with Beach Club a close second

We traveled with our 2 frequent Disney companions, Brian's mom and sister (Stephanie):





Before this trip report goes any farther, I have a couple restrictions for would be readers:

Riders must be at least 40 inches (3'4") tall to ride.
No child under the age of 7 may ride without an adult.
Baby swap* can be used here.
For safety, you should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride.
Also, you should not ride if you are adverse to rare characters,



butterbeer,



or fish wearing spectacles



Got past the safety spiel? Good. Keep hands, arms and feet inside the ride vehicle at all times!! And yes, there will be a ride photo!

 

[soniam]

Ooooo! Your list is so fun. Can I play too?

Favorite Park: Epcot, but my favorite rides are at MK, so maybe it's both. Epcot had just opened the first time I visited WDW.
Favorite Characters to Meet: Mary Poppins, the Mad Hatter, Pooh
Favorite Movie: Tie between Wall-E & Brave (yes, I'm counting Pixar) (new era), Winnie the Pooh 1977 (this was hard because my childhood was during the 70s & 80s, aka the years at Disney that shall not be named) (my childhood era), Mary Poppins (noticing a theme) & Fantasia (original) (before my time era)
Favorite Nighttime Show: Main Street Electrical Parade and Wishes (such wonderful childhood memories)
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: Dole Whip (pineapple only, in a float or not), with butterbeer following a very close second (We love the frozen butterbeer and the soft-serve. We never got around to trying the regular, because the others were just so good.)
Favorite Disney transportation: Monorail (wonderful memories of my grandpa)
Favorite Disney horse: I guess I have never really given much thought to Disney horses. My favorite horse is from Ren & Stimpy, but that's not Disney. I like you BF's idea of Eeyore
Favorite Hotel: Polynesian (pre-recent remodel) & Port Orleans Riverside

Can't wait to read more of your report. I loved your report from last year's SWW & MK 24 Hour Party.

 

[JDUB]

Sound like fun! I've never posted my favs before
Favorite Park: Hollywood Studios (Competitive TSM, love Star Tours scenes, RnRC and ToT! Then Osborne Lights put the icing on the cake for me)
Favorite Characters to Meet: Gaston followed by Jack and Sally
Favorite Movie: Wreck It Ralph (new era), Fox and Hound (my childhood era), Mary Poppins (before my time era)
Favorite Nighttime Show: People watching on Main St lol and then HalloWishes
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: absolutely Croissant Donut with cinnamon sugar at Refreshment Port Epcot
Favorite Disney transportation: Monorail resort hoping during Christmas and taking monorail to Epcot
Favorite Disney horse: Artax from Neverending story but that's not Disney so I'll go with Bullseye from Toy Story
Favorite Hotel: Beach Club (deluxe) , Port Orleans Riverside (mod) and Art of Animation (value) followed by All Star Music for family suites
Can't wait to read more a out SWW & MK 24 Hour Party.

 

[yulilin3]

And you have started a new trend:
Favorite Park:tie between Hollywood Studios and MK, followed by AK, least favorite Epcot
Favorite Characters to Meet: Aurra Sing followed by Maleficentm Gaston and the Tremains (I see a pattern here)
Favorite Movie: top 5 Lion King, Tarzan, Mary Poppins, Newsies and Fantasia
Favorite Nighttime Show: tie between Fantasmic! sitting all the way down, you haven't experienced F! until you get wet and Celebrate the Magic (Walt Disney's face on the castle...tears every time)
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: tie between carrot cake cookie at Writer's Stop and Dole Whip
Favorite Disney transportation: MK train
Favorite Disney horse: Pegasus from Hercules (he counts as a horse right)
Favorite Hotel: Hands down AKL (Club Level better) Moderate: POR, Value:AoA (is that value)

 

[jane2073]

Since everyone else is doing it....
Favorite Park: DHS and MK. We spend a lot of time at DHS during SWW and Osborne Lights.
Favorite Character to meet: I love all SWW characters and anyone new who comes to the Animation Building. Baymax was a lot of fun.
Favorite Movie: A Goofy Movie, Peter Pan and Dumbo
Favorite Nighttime Show: Main Street Electrical Parade-takes me back to my childhood!
Favorite counter service snack: carrot cake cookie and a good cupcake
Favorite Disney Transportation: Disney bus when it is not crowded!
Favorite Disney Horse: Horace Horsecollar
Favorite Disney Hotel: Port Orleans French Quarter

I am more lurker than poster (though I have my posting moments!) but I love reading your TR!

 

[DrTiger]

Count me in.
Favorite Park: MK
Favorite Character: Mickey, cause...he's Mickey!
Favorite Movie: How to choose? Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Little Mermaid.
Favorite Nighttime Show: Boo to You Halloween Parade
Favorite Snack: Butterbeer! but Darth Vader cupcake comes in second.
Favorite Transportation: am dying to try Carsland at Disneyland!
Favorite Disney Horse: Mary Poppins' carousel horse
Favorite Disney Hotel: Beach Club, but I'm willing to keep an open mind and try them all!

Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Ahahahaha, I actually love that you all started answering the questionnaire. Brian was disappointed there were no new posts from the time it took us to go to yoga and come back. So if your lurking, answer the questionnaire!! You're providing amusement for all

And now I feel like I know everyone better!

Ooooo! Your list is so fun. Can I play too?

Favorite Park: Epcot, but my favorite rides are at MK, so maybe it's both. Epcot had just opened the first time I visited WDW.
Favorite Characters to Meet: Mary Poppins, the Mad Hatter, Pooh
Favorite Movie: Tie between Wall-E & Brave (yes, I'm counting Pixar) (new era), Winnie the Pooh 1977 (this was hard because my childhood was during the 70s & 80s, aka the years at Disney that shall not be named) (my childhood era), Mary Poppins (noticing a theme) & Fantasia (original) (before my time era)
Favorite Nighttime Show: Main Street Electrical Parade and Wishes (such wonderful childhood memories)
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: Dole Whip (pineapple only, in a float or not), with butterbeer following a very close second (We love the frozen butterbeer and the soft-serve. We never got around to trying the regular, because the others were just so good.)
Favorite Disney transportation: Monorail (wonderful memories of my grandpa)
Favorite Disney horse: I guess I have never really given much thought to Disney horses. My favorite horse is from Ren & Stimpy, but that's not Disney. I like you BF's idea of Eeyore
Favorite Hotel: Polynesian (pre-recent remodel) & Port Orleans Riverside

Can't wait to read more of your report. I loved your report from last year's SWW & MK 24 Hour Party.

Mad Hatter is a good choice. He is definitely a wild card.

Oh noooo, I wasn't thinking about the nighttime parades, we both love Main Street Electrical Parade...5...4...3...2...1...and the music is in my head.

I didn't even think to count Pixar! Now Brian is angry that he didn't put Wall-e and Ratatouille.

I don't drink the regular butterbeer either, had the frozen and was like yep, this it it.

Sound like fun! I've never posted my favs before
Favorite Park: Hollywood Studios (Competitive TSM, love Star Tours scenes, RnRC and ToT! Then Osborne Lights put the icing on the cake for me)
Favorite Characters to Meet: Gaston followed by Jack and Sally
Favorite Movie: Wreck It Ralph (new era), Fox and Hound (my childhood era), Mary Poppins (before my time era)
Favorite Nighttime Show: People watching on Main St lol and then HalloWishes
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: absolutely Croissant Donut with cinnamon sugar at Refreshment Port Epcot
Favorite Disney transportation: Monorail resort hoping during Christmas and taking monorail to Epcot
Favorite Disney horse: Artax from Neverending story but that's not Disney so I'll go with Bullseye from Toy Story
Favorite Hotel: Beach Club (deluxe) , Port Orleans Riverside (mod) and Art of Animation (value) followed by All Star Music for family suites
Can't wait to read more a out SWW & MK 24 Hour Party.

You make a strong argument for DHS.

I totally forgot Gaston! That just goes to show, favorite characters to meet does not equal favorite characters all the time.

Hallowishes yes!! Favorite fireworks.

Artax

And you have started a new trend:
Favorite Park:tie between Hollywood Studios and MK, followed by AK, least favorite Epcot
Favorite Characters to Meet: Aurra Sing followed by Maleficentm Gaston and the Tremains (I see a pattern here)
Favorite Movie: top 5 Lion King, Tarzan, Mary Poppins, Newsies and Fantasia
Favorite Nighttime Show: tie between Fantasmic! sitting all the way down, you haven't experienced F! until you get wet and Celebrate the Magic (Walt Disney's face on the castle...tears every time)
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: tie between carrot cake cookie at Writer's Stop and Dole Whip
Favorite Disney transportation: MK train
Favorite Disney horse: Pegasus from Hercules (he counts as a horse right)
Favorite Hotel: Hands down AKL (Club Level better) Moderate: POR, Value:AoA (is that value)

I see, you like to meet the villains so you like abuse? hahaha. Gaston once spent a good 2 minutes admiring his reflection in my sunglasses that were on top of my head.

Newsies!! And the world will know!

Pegasus definitely counts!

Since everyone else is doing it....
Favorite Park: DHS and MK. We spend a lot of time at DHS during SWW and Osborne Lights.
Favorite Character to meet: I love all SWW characters and anyone new who comes to the Animation Building. Baymax was a lot of fun.
Favorite Movie: A Goofy Movie, Peter Pan and Dumbo
Favorite Nighttime Show: Main Street Electrical Parade-takes me back to my childhood!
Favorite counter service snack: carrot cake cookie and a good cupcake
Favorite Disney Transportation: Disney bus when it is not crowded!
Favorite Disney Horse: Horace Horsecollar
Favorite Disney Hotel: Port Orleans French Quarter

I am more lurker than poster (though I have my posting moments!) but I love reading your TR!

Oooh Baymax! He was so adorable! I was totally satisfied with my care.

Hah, a non-crowded Disney bus is a delight. One night after a super busy day at MK a while ago they must have run low on buses because we had a charter bus. When we pulled out, the driver turned the lights out and played Finding Nemo on the TVs. There was not a peep on that crowded bus for the whole trip.

Count me in.
Favorite Park: MK
Favorite Character: Mickey, cause...he's Mickey!
Favorite Movie: How to choose? Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Little Mermaid.
Favorite Nighttime Show: Boo to You Halloween Parade
Favorite Snack: Butterbeer! but Darth Vader cupcake comes in second.
Favorite Transportation: am dying to try Carsland at Disneyland!
Favorite Disney Horse: Mary Poppins' carousel horse
Favorite Disney Hotel: Beach Club, but I'm willing to keep an open mind and try them all!

Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

Boo to you is also an excellent choice! Everything in the Halloween party is the best thing ever though.

Oh my gosh, you have to get to DL for Carsland! It is indescribable, and pictures do not do it justice! I made a point to be there when they turn on the neon for the night, they play the driving song that the Cars listened to in the movie, it is so magical.

Brian is jealous you said Mary Poppins' carousel horse, I think he wants to steal that answer.


Keep them coming people! I love reading all these responses. I'll be doing the boring travel day update soon (haha, I'm making it sound like so much fun, you'll all definitely keep reading) then we can get to the good stuff!

 

[LizardQueen8]

I want to play!

Favorite Park: MK
Favorite Characters to meet: Anyone I haven't met yet! On my wish list are Captain Hook, Robin Hood, Pocahontas and Baloo
Favorite Movie: For animated, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty and Alice in Wonderland. For live action, Mary Poppins, The Parent Trap (original recipe), and Escape to Witch Mountain
Favorite Nighttime Show: Main Street Electrical Parade
Favorite Counter Service/snack: Mickey pretzel. Or vanilla swirl Dole Whip. Or croissant from France. I like snacks
Favorite Disney transportation: gotta go with the classic choice of monorail
Favorite Disney Horse: I...don't know how to choose. I LOVE Disney horses! A three way tie I guess between Samson, Maximus and Bullseye
Favorite Disney Hotel: Of the ones I've stayed in up til now, the Beach Club

My Disneyland choice for transportation would be the railroad, for snack would be a Little Red Wagon corn dog, and my nighttime show choice would be World of Color (this might change after my November trip).

 

[stacy~**]

Finally here! I'm sure you've been waiting. Fun intro and I love that first picture of you and Brian. Perfect!

I am terrible at picking favorites because I like everything but I will give it a try:

Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom AT NIGHT trumps everything. EP would be second.
Favorite Characters to Meet: I love Pooh characters (showing my age as a kid of the 70s), Mickey (duh) and our best meet of all time was with Mary Poppins. Love meeting new or rare characters.
Favorite Movie: Wall-E, Sleeping Beauty, Tangled, and Bolt. Those are just a few.
Favorite Nighttime Show: Symphony in the Sky! (best fireworks), Illuminations (most thought provoking), Main Street Electrical Parade (best music to give you that super happy feeling) and Fantasmic (best overall.....). I've just recently really upped my nighttime show love. It's almost like you asked me to just list all the nighttime Disney entertainment. Haha!
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: The veggie platter at Tangeirine Café in Morocco is a vegetarians dream.
Favorite Disney transportation: Magical Express only the first trip (on the way to the resort).
Favorite Disney horse: I'm not a horse person so this is tough. Samson with Maximus a close second.
Favorite Hotel: All Star Movies (Value....guessing it would be AOA if I had ever stayed there), POFQ (mod), and AKL (Deluxe). Honorable mention to Beach Club.

Edited to add that I am laughing over the amount of winkie smilies I used. (I had to...)

 

[yulilin3]

oops wrong thread

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'll join the fun!

Favorite Park: EPCOT (World Showcase during F&WF to be specific) - though MK now that I have kids tugs on different emotions
Favorite Characters to Meet: Tianna and Naveen, Ariel tends to be great too
Favorite Movie: Big Hero 6 (new era), Robinhood (my childhood era), Mary Poppins (before my time era)
Favorite Nighttime Show: Wishes (Illuminations is probably a better show, but doesn't give the Disney feels that Wishes does. oh, Frozen Fireworks were great too ... I think I just really like Disney fireworks)
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: Dolewhip float (Swirl dolewhip in pineapple juice)
Favorite Disney transportation: Monorail (especially the loop through EPCOT around Spaceship Earth) ... though always love the Fake-o-rail at MCO on arrival as it kinda signals the true start to vacation
Favorite Disney horse: I guess Maximus from Tangled
Favorite Hotel (we haven't stayed at many so some just from visiting): Polly (deluxe - love watching Wishes from there, and Dole Whips) , Port Orleans French Quarter (mod) and Art of Animation (value)

 

[goodmorningirl]

Looking forward to reading along with your report! And I'm NOT adverse to rare characters.

Here's my list:
Favorite Park: MK
Favorite Characters to meet: I love meeting characters, but favorites have to be Stitch, Merida, Tiana, and Naveen.
Favorite Movie: Peter Pan is my favorite movie in the world!
Favorite Nighttime Show: Wishes
Favorite Counter Service/snack: Mickey's Premium Ice Cream bar
Favorite Disney transportation: Monorail
Favorite Disney Horse: Maximus or Phillipe
Favorite Disney Hotel: Contemporary

 

[kastoney]

Well ya know I gotta follow along again, if nothing else just so all the star wars reference can fly right over my head ; )

And of course being one to succumb to peer pressure here we go:

Favorite Park:Usually MK, but due to the lack of alcohol AK has been creepin' up on her lately
Favorite Characters to Meet: Chip N Dale, love those crazy chipmunks
Favorite Movie:With a 4 year old obsessed with frozen, I'll go with anything that isn't frozen
Favorite Nighttime Show: Wine and dessert in my bed ; )
Favorite Counter Service/Snack:School to the bread, followed closely by anything from La Cava
Favorite Disney transportation: Boat from WL to MK
Favorite Disney horse: Must have been on the WL boat when I missed all the disney horses. Do the budweiser Clydesdales count?
Favorite Hotel: Wilderness Lodge

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

I'll give it a shot, too, even though I typically have more than one favorite.

Favorite Park: Epcot (World Showcase people-watching, Soarin')
Favorite Characters to Meet: Mad Hatter (DL), Alice (UK pavilion), Mary Poppins and Bert (PHM)
Favorite Movie: Tangled (2000s), Hercules (90s), Alice in Wonderland (childhood and before my time) - this answer could change tomorrow.
Favorite Nighttime Show: old Illuminations set to classical music (1812 Overture FTW!), MSEP
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: nachos at Mexico pavilion (counts as a snack if you split it, right?!?)
Favorite Disney Transportation: People Mover in Tomorrowland
Favorite Disney Horse: tie between Maximus and Pegasus
Favorite Hotel: Boardwalk (deluxe), POR (moderate), AoA (value)

 

[chunkymonkey]

Oooh since everyone is playing I'll give it a go...but I'm really indecisive so this can change all the time...

Favorite Park: Epcot
Favorite Characters to Meet: Baymax! (fist-bump-ba-la-la-la-la), all the SW characters, and Pooh/Tigger
Favorite Movie:
Favorite Nighttime Show: right now...Fantasmic!
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: Lately it's Gastons Tavern for a pork shank and lefou's brew! (But you are right about butterbeer being infinitely superior) Snack wise, a mickey pretzel!
Favorite Disney Transportation: Monorail
Favorite Disney Horse: Hmm, I never thought about this...how about the mice from Cinderella?
Favorite Hotel: Poly (deluxe), POFQ (moderate), AoA (value)

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I want to play!

Favorite Park: MK
Favorite Characters to meet: Anyone I haven't met yet! On my wish list are Captain Hook, Robin Hood, Pocahontas and Baloo
Favorite Movie: For animated, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty and Alice in Wonderland. For live action, Mary Poppins, The Parent Trap (original recipe), and Escape to Witch Mountain
Favorite Nighttime Show: Main Street Electrical Parade
Favorite Counter Service/snack: Mickey pretzel. Or vanilla swirl Dole Whip. Or croissant from France. I like snacks
Favorite Disney transportation: gotta go with the classic choice of monorail
Favorite Disney Horse: I...don't know how to choose. I LOVE Disney horses! A three way tie I guess between Samson, Maximus and Bullseye
Favorite Disney Hotel: Of the ones I've stayed in up til now, the Beach Club

My Disneyland choice for transportation would be the railroad, for snack would be a Little Red Wagon corn dog, and my nighttime show choice would be World of Color (this might change after my November trip).

Well, we met with almost all the characters on your wish list this trip! So maybe you can live a little vicariously through us?

MSEP, once again, good choice.

How about the chocolate croissant from france?! Eh?

I can't wait to see all the new DL parades and shows! It sounds like the fireworks will be amazing!

Finally here! I'm sure you've been waiting. Fun intro and I love that first picture of you and Brian. Perfect!

I am terrible at picking favorites because I like everything but I will give it a try:

Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom AT NIGHT trumps everything. EP would be second.
Favorite Characters to Meet: I love Pooh characters (showing my age as a kid of the 70s), Mickey (duh) and our best meet of all time was with Mary Poppins. Love meeting new or rare characters.
Favorite Movie: Wall-E, Sleeping Beauty, Tangled, and Bolt. Those are just a few.
Favorite Nighttime Show: Symphony in the Sky! (best fireworks), Illuminations (most thought provoking), Main Street Electrical Parade (best music to give you that super happy feeling) and Fantasmic (best overall.....). I've just recently really upped my nighttime show love. It's almost like you asked me to just list all the nighttime Disney entertainment. Haha!
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: The veggie platter at Tangeirine Café in Morocco is a vegetarians dream.
Favorite Disney transportation: Magical Express only the first trip (on the way to the resort).
Favorite Disney horse: I'm not a horse person so this is tough. Samson with Maximus a close second.
Favorite Hotel: All Star Movies (Value....guessing it would be AOA if I had ever stayed there), POFQ (mod), and AKL (Deluxe). Honorable mention to Beach Club.

Edited to add that I am laughing over the amount of winkie smilies I used. (I had to...)

I was waiting for you!!

Geez, how did I not think of MK at night?! That really is the best. We have this perfect moment on this trip where we were all lying in the FP+ area waiting for the projection show to start and it was just so cool. Who thought you could lie on your back and look at the stars and the castle at Disney?

oops wrong thread

Hey, if you want to invite Freddie Prinz Jr. to join my TR, be my guest.

I'll join the fun!

Favorite Park: EPCOT (World Showcase during F&WF to be specific) - though MK now that I have kids tugs on different emotions
Favorite Characters to Meet: Tianna and Naveen, Ariel tends to be great too
Favorite Movie: Big Hero 6 (new era), Robinhood (my childhood era), Mary Poppins (before my time era)
Favorite Nighttime Show: Wishes (Illuminations is probably a better show, but doesn't give the Disney feels that Wishes does. oh, Frozen Fireworks were great too ... I think I just really like Disney fireworks)
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: Dolewhip float (Swirl dolewhip in pineapple juice)
Favorite Disney transportation: Monorail (especially the loop through EPCOT around Spaceship Earth) ... though always love the Fake-o-rail at MCO on arrival as it kinda signals the true start to vacation
Favorite Disney horse: I guess Maximus from Tangled
Favorite Hotel (we haven't stayed at many so some just from visiting): Polly (deluxe - love watching Wishes from there, and Dole Whips) , Port Orleans French Quarter (mod) and Art of Animation (value)

Oooh Tiana and Naveen are super good choices!

Have you seen the Star Wars fireworks?

I do love the Epcot 'tour in the sky'.

Looking forward to reading along with your report! And I'm NOT adverse to rare characters.

Here's my list:
Favorite Park: MK
Favorite Characters to meet: I love meeting characters, but favorites have to be Stitch, Merida, Tiana, and Naveen.
Favorite Movie: Peter Pan is my favorite movie in the world!
Favorite Nighttime Show: Wishes
Favorite Counter Service/snack: Mickey's Premium Ice Cream bar
Favorite Disney transportation: Monorail
Favorite Disney Horse: Maximus or Phillipe
Favorite Disney Hotel: Contemporary

Merida!! I have a funny story about Stitch from this trip you might like.

I am weird, Peter Pan is one of my favorite books and stories of all time, but don't kill me, the Disney movie just doesn't do it for me

Well ya know I gotta follow along again, if nothing else just so all the star wars reference can fly right over my head ; )

And of course being one to succumb to peer pressure here we go:

Favorite Park:Usually MK, but due to the lack of alcohol AK has been creepin' up on her lately
Favorite Characters to Meet: Chip N Dale, love those crazy chipmunks
Favorite Movie:With a 4 year old obsessed with frozen, I'll go with anything that isn't frozen
Favorite Nighttime Show: Wine and dessert in my bed ; )
Favorite Counter Service/Snack:School to the bread, followed closely by anything from La Cava
Favorite Disney transportation: Boat from WL to MK
Favorite Disney horse: Must have been on the WL boat when I missed all the disney horses. Do the budweiser Clydesdales count?
Favorite Hotel: Wilderness Lodge

Oh the SW references will fly fast and plenty!

Anything that isn't Frozen hahahaha.

Haha no the budweiser Clydesdales don't count, but I did get to meet them once at the Columbus Ohio fair.

I'll give it a shot, too, even though I typically have more than one favorite.

Favorite Park: Epcot (World Showcase people-watching, Soarin')
Favorite Characters to Meet: Mad Hatter (DL), Alice (UK pavilion), Mary Poppins and Bert (PHM)
Favorite Movie: Tangled (2000s), Hercules (90s), Alice in Wonderland (childhood and before my time) - this answer could change tomorrow.
Favorite Nighttime Show: old Illuminations set to classical music (1812 Overture FTW!), MSEP
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: nachos at Mexico pavilion (counts as a snack if you split it, right?!?)
Favorite Disney Transportation: People Mover in Tomorrowland
Favorite Disney Horse: tie between Maximus and Pegasus
Favorite Hotel: Boardwalk (deluxe), POR (moderate), AoA (value)

I think we all have had more than one favorite for most of these hahaha.

I don't think I saw the old Illuminations...hmm.

Oooh since everyone is playing I'll give it a go...but I'm really indecisive so this can change all the time...

Favorite Park: Epcot
Favorite Characters to Meet: Baymax! (fist-bump-ba-la-la-la-la), all the SW characters, and Pooh/Tigger
Favorite Movie:
Favorite Nighttime Show: right now...Fantasmic!
Favorite Counter Service/Snack: Lately it's Gastons Tavern for a pork shank and lefou's brew! (But you are right about butterbeer being infinitely superior) Snack wise, a mickey pretzel!
Favorite Disney Transportation: Monorail
Favorite Disney Horse: Hmm, I never thought about this...how about the mice from Cinderella?
Favorite Hotel: Poly (deluxe), POFQ (moderate), AoA (value)

Baymax is soooo adorable.

Lol the mice from Cinderella is a pretty unique answer, good one!

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Wednesday May 20: Travel Day

Unbelievable Sights, Indescribable Feelings. Soaring, Tumbling Free-wheeling through an endless diamond sky.



There would definitely be some soaring this night! Hopefully not tumbling...I think free wheeling might be ok though.

After an excruciatingly long wait, it was finally the day we were to head to Disney! Our plane was to take off at 7:00 pm and we'd arrive in Orlando at 10:30 pm.

I just had to get through a short work day and then I was headed home around 3 to drop the poor dog off at his boarding place for the long weekend.



Spoiler alert: I think Sirius had a good time. So all was well.

Soon we had all of our stuff ready to go and we were headed out! We left around 4:30, it was only supposed to take half an hour to get to the airport but we'd never flown out of the Austin airport before so we wanted to leave plenty of time. We took the toll road which was very empty and fast:



Within no time we had parked the car (my beloved Roary) and were on the shuttle to the airport. The security line turned out to be non-existent.

We were waiting at our gate with about 45 minutes to go so Brian went in search of some dinner. I took a picture of all our luggage, we'd decided to go carry on only:



We had 2 backpacks, 2 carry ons, a camera bag and a giant wrapped birthday kite for Stephanie. I was pretty worried that we'd be allowed to take it all onto the plane.

Soon it was time to board. Brian had the last A boarding spot and I had the first B. We made a big show of saying goodbye, since we assumed we'd be reunited in about 5 seconds. Wrong...Southwest does family boarding after the A group for families with small children and I think about 30 people got in between us. I was glad he'd gone on ahead to get our seats.

Luckily we got all our luggage on ok and then there was nothing left to do but take off! I think this is when vacation really starts, when the plane leaves the ground.



There was a pretty big storm rolling in (if anyone heard of all the flooding in Texas and Austin, this was the start of that).

Everyone ready for the start of vacation?!



I have about 20 million free drink coupons from Southwest so we decided to use a couple on this trip. Brian got a bloody mary and I got a rum and coke.



Or should I say a cup of vodka and rum...those drinks had the barest splash of coke and tomato juice...I could barely drink mine but I put my vacation face on and chugged it. I am an un-ashamed 'one and done' so needless to say I was a bit tipsy. I'm fine with being a lightweight...I feel like I save a lot of money on drinks!



I always love to sit by the window while flying because I can't get enough of looking at everything go by. This flight, however, went over the ocean for most of the flight and it got dark rather quickly.

Finally we arrived over Florida and the ground got very interesting:





Right before we arrived at the airport, we saw fireworks start to go off!!! We were really confused about what fireworks they could be, it was 10 pm and I didn't realize until later that Wishes started at 10 during this time. Thanks for welcoming us Wishes!!

We landed safely and were soon meeting Brian's mom and his sister. They had taken a road trip and drove to Disney so they were able to pick us up. We soon arrived at our destination!!!


No...not Disney....I tricked you all!! We arrived at Royal Pacific!! This isn't a Disney trip report at all! Its Universal!!

Haha ok well no, it still is a Disney trip report. We had one day left on our Universal APs and we weren't about to let that go to waste.

So apparently the first picture I took of the Royal Pacific was some umbrellas in the lobby...



I really know how to set the scene, don't I?

After we checked in we got to go take our pictures for our express pass. I took mine...and my picture broke the machine. Just kidding, but not really. So I had to wait for the front desk to reset it and then I finally got my picture and could join everyone else in the room.

And now a lamp...



Come stay at Universal's Royal Pacific! They have umbrellas, and lamps....and hallways by the elevator!



Are you sold?

Your all definitely going to stay at the Royal Pacific for your next trip, right?

Well let me just take any indecision out of your hands by showing you a picture of the hall carpet:



Facepalm. Really, the Royal Pacific is a gorgeous, amazing resort. Don't take my half drunk, very tired first few photos as your view on the resort.

I did get a couple decent room photos. These were hard because Brian's family was already in the room setting up and the bring a lot of luggage...think of a lot to you, and then double that. No joke here.









Yep, those are all the pictures for tonight hahaha ugh.

We all stayed up a pretty indecent amount of time exchanging birthday gifts and showing party costumes off to each other (Brian's sister Stephanie made the Stepsisters costumed and I provided the Frozen nightwear).

I think we got to sleep around 1...and then the nightmares began. Not really nightmares, but Brian's mom and sister snored like sailors this trip. It was so ridiculously loud. Think of loud, then multiply that by ten. It was so absurd. I probably could have got more sleep if I'd slept next to the plane's engine while it was turned on. I think Brian and I got about 4 hours of sleep that night since we were waking up at 7 so we could get to early entry at IOA. This lack of sleep would soon become a sad trend for the trip.







.

 

[soniam]

@Ohio State Buckeyes
We stayed at Royal Pacific in March. Loved the hotel, loved the room, loved the view, loved the pool, loved the proximity to the parks, hated the hallway carpet

The Austin airport rarely gets very crowded or backed up. We usually try to get there at least 1.5 hours before, maybe 2 if we are being paranoid. If you are coming from up north, then traffic, especially on the toll road shouldn't be bad. Sometimes, we can hit bad traffic on Friday afternoons/evenings coming from southwest. There are a lot of decent, and actually good, places to eat in the Austin airport. What's cool, is that many of the places in the airport are not really chains, or they are chains that started in Austin. We like Thundercloud, Salt Lick, Hill's, Schlotzky's, Amy's, and Hoover's. There's a new place on the American Airlines end (to the right and all the way down when you enter after security) that looks good, but we haven't tried it. They look like a bakery/sandwichy/healthy/salady type place.

EDIT: I always bring ear plugs in my purse, everywhere, so I always have them while traveling. We once stayed across from the Duomo in Florence. It was really noisy, due to the church bells and the people's voices echoing off the hard surfaces in the square all night. We didn't have any ear plugs then. I would have given anything for some, but that's not an easy thing to come by in Europe. Plus, I sometimes snore, so DH wears them

 

[chunkymonkey]

Nice start! Did they let you bring all that stuff on board? They are so strict nowadays.

I love the Royal Pacific Resort! We stayed a couple of years ago. I even had an impromptu Dis Meet there...someone tapped me and said..."are you Chunkymonkey?" and any normal person might thing that's weird but I was overjoyed to meet a fellow Dis-er!

It looks like the changed the rooms a bit...looks a lot prettier and matches the rest of the resort...I do miss all the free stuff they kept passing you at the pools...ice pop ma'am? yes please!

Hope you had a great time at Universal! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[stacy~**]

I'm glad the Austin airport ended up being easy to manage. No excuse not to make a lot more trips! Laughing at your 20 million drink coupons. I have many as well (after giving many away to friends). I keep forgetting to bring them with me...although I don't often drink and not sure I would want to on an airplane. I try my best to avoid needing a potty break. I need to remember them and either use them or offer them to parents traveling with young children.

And how neat to see Wishes from the sky!

I think we all have those days were we look back on our pictures and are like, What was I thinking? Add in that you had a strong drink on a travel day and it is perfectly acceptable. Although I have to admit I don't really have a clue as to what this resort looks like.

Sorry about the snoring. Traveling with others (even others you love to death) can be tough.